


Demonic Influence

by Josephi



Category: Doom (Video Games), For Honor (Video Game), RWBY
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-29
Updated: 2020-07-28
Packaged: 2021-03-02 19:34:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 9
Words: 17,932
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24432154
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Josephi/pseuds/Josephi
Summary: After experimenting with transferring consciousnesses, the UAC attempts to create a powerful weapon by transferring the mind of Alex, a Tier 2 Advocate, into the mind of the most powerful demon in containment. But something goes wrong, and now said demon, along with Alex's mind, are sent screaming and roaring through the multiverse.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 15





	1. Arrival

All Alex could feel was pain. Something had gone wrong, and now he was paying for it in full. He had been a Tier 2 Advocate for the UAC, and he had been chosen by Samuel Hayden himself to be the subject of a top secret experiment involving the transfer of consciousnesses. He had wanted to create a powerful soldier, and what better way than to replace a demon's mind with that of a human's?

He had been briefed on everything that had happened beforehand. The demon he was going to take control of was none other than the Cyberdemon itself. They had upgraded it with a Tether System and had it in hibernation so it wouldn't escape if anything went wrong. But something had. During the transfer process, the huge amounts of energy had managed to trigger the Tether System, taking the Cyberdemon who knows where, and dragging his consciousness along for the ride.

Now Alex was flying through a wormhole as his mind started taking control of the demon. It wasn't difficult, the demon's mind had been evicted before the Tether System went haywire, but the process was still excruciatingly painful. When he emerged from the other side of the portal, he was dumped unceremoniously on the ground. He started to slowly get up, but it wasn't easy, as he had been mentaly drained from the whole ordeal. As he sat up, he took in his surroundings. His four eyes allowed him to take in greater detail, he was in a forest. He was regaining energy quicker, hugely thanks to the Argent Accumulator in his chest.

He was on a grassy hill in a clearing surrounded by tall trees, but due to his elevated position and massive stature, he could easily see over them. He was surrounded by a sea of green trees, stretching out further than his eyes could see. He then examined himself.

He was truly in the body of the legendary Cyberdemon. He could feel the power coursing through him and the Accumulator acted like a heart, beating the Argent Energy through his body, fueling him. He examined the Tether System that had been implanted next to his heart, and it had been burnt to a crisp. There was no way he could return to Mars, at least not yet. It looked like he was back on Earth. His first thought was to make it to civilization, but he immediately realized that was a terrible idea. He was a massive demon, so everyone would surely panic upon seeing him. No, he would have to hide until the UAC came to retrieve him.

As he walked through the forest, each step thundering and scaring away animals, he thought about what he would do if someone found him. He probably wouldn't have to kill them, he doubted people would believe them and would just label them as insane. He couldn't speak, the demon didn't have vocal cords, so he wouldn't be able to reason with anyone if they proved hostile. After what felt like an hour of walking, he found a large cave, big enough to fit his large frame. He trudged inside, and found it was much deeper than he thought it would be. As he went deeper, he realized he could see in the dark. Everything seemed perfectly lit. After a few minutes of walking, he found the end of it. Deciding this was a good enough cave, he went back outside and looked around more.

When he reemerged in the forest, he was surprised to see that it was night. He must've been in there longer than he thought. He was about to go back inside and sleep till morning, but when he looked up to gaze at the moon, he froze in shock. The moon had been shattered. This wasn't Earth. Instead of standing there like an idiot, he went back into the cave to sleep. As he sat down in the corner and closed his eyes, he thought of how everyone was holding up back home.

**The Next Morning**

Alex awoke to talking. He could smell something as well, but he couldn't quite figure out what it was. It smelled really good. He didn't give any indication he was awake, and continued listening.

"The fuck is this thing?" He heard someone say.

"Dunno, but it's not moving. Think it's dead?" He heard another respond.

"Probably. We should report this to Adam." He was going to let them go, but when he heard that, he knew he couldn't let them leave. He opened his eyes, and looked at the now terrified, intruders. There were three of them, and they were wearing strange white uniforms and masks. But the strangest thing was their animal parts. They had animal ears sprouting from their heads, one even had a tail.

He sat there staring at them for a few moments, before one of them opened fire on him. The bullets were very weak and he barely felt them. He lunged out with a claw, grabbing a beast man and holding him up to his face for a closer look. The smell was stronger, and it was coming from the three beast men. It was so good, like cooked meat. He would be salivating if he could. Then, without even thinking, he ate him and swallowed him whole. He tasted delicious. Then he realized what the aroma was. He could, literally, smell their sins. And it made him hungry.

He could see the sins the man he had committed throughout his life, and it dashed any guilt he may have felt. They were members of a terrorist group, though he still didn't know the name. The one he had eaten had smelled strongly, but the other two were a little stronger. He stood up and grabbed another, eating him as well, then finally doing the same with the last. It was a delectable meal. He craved more. He was brought out of his thoughts by the smell once again wafting into his nose. It was coming from outside.

He left the cave and began following the scent like a bloodhound. Eventually he came across a town, and it looked like it was under attack by bandits. He could see innocents being dragged out of their homes and killed by laughing thieves. The smell drove him mad with hunger. He immediately charged the closest bandit, a large man that was attempting to kill a woman. He picked him up and dropped him in his open maw in one swift motion. He was delicious. This further fed into his feeding frenzy as the bandits saw him and started shooting at him, despite the bullets doing nothing. He tore his way through the town, devouring any bandits he came across.

Eventually, as he turned a corner and could see the town square. People were being rounded up for an unknown reason. But none of that mattered to him. What did matter to him was the pale woman in black with a large white mask. He could pick out her scent from the rest. It was overwhelming, and it sent him into a blood rage. He let out a blood curdling roar and started sprinting at her full speed. She seemed extremely surprised by his appearance and hesitated. That was all the time he needed to reach her and take a swipe at her. She dodged it and stared at him.

He started shooting at her with his missile launcher, which she promptly dodged. It was infuriating him. She shot at him with lightning speed and slashed at his leg. It only caused a minor scratch. Her stench was driving him mad with hunger. He started slashing and shooting her with wild ferocity, she dodged every one of them, but just barely. Eventually she jumped onto his face, grabbing his horn to stay on. She reeled back to stab him in the eye, but he snatched her off his face. He held her tight, and he was about to eat her, she stabbed into his hand hard enough to drop her out of reflex. Then she slashed into the air, summoning a portal, then jumping through. Then said portal closed, making her scent vanish and solidifying her escape.

He stood there for a moment, shocked, before roaring to the heavens in pure rage at letting his prey escape. He started smashing and slicing any bandits still alive, not even caring to eat them. When he finally snapped out of his frenzy, he realized he had destroyed the entire town, along with everyone in it. He didn't even care he had just slaughtered the innocents, he was still pissed about letting the woman escape.

As he began the trek back to his cave, a crow watched from a distant pile of rubble. But Alex didn't see it. Soon he would wish he had exterminated it.

**3 Days Later**

Alex was getting better at hunting sinners. He had found a base housing more of those beast men terrorists, White Fang apparently, and had eaten them all. He was feeling much better about losing the woman, but he vowed to not let her escape next time. He had also begun encountering these strange black creatures more and more. Some looked like wolves, some bears, and even a few birds. One time he had even returned to his cave to find a large scorpion taking up residence. That was a fun fight. What was even stranger is that whenever one died, it dissolved into ash, and that ash would promptly be absorbed by his heart as if it were Argent Energy. The aforementioned scorpion had given him a massive boost, and he felt fully energized afterward.

When he got closer to the cave, he could hear people. He slowly crept up on the clearing where his cave entrance was and saw a large group of strangely dressed humans, along with a few beast men. None of them smelled of sin, at least not strong enough to entice him, so he simply observed. They were dressed strangely and wielded stranger weapons. They were talking amongst themselves. They were confused as to where he was, saying someone named Professor Ozpin had given them bad intel. Another said it was impossible, and suggested they wait for "the Grimm" to return and ambush him, whatever a Grimm was. He guessed it was what those shadow monsters were called.

Alex guessed that they were monster hunters of some sort, and that someone had survived the town massacre and told people about him. He decided that the cave was no longer safe, however, as he was about to leave, one of the beast men heard him. Alex heard him shout for his comrades attention, then heard them give chase to him. He started sprinting away from them, not wanting to kill them since they didn't have the smell, but they were faster and caught up to him quickly. They started attacking him, ranging from slashes to stabs, shots to blasts, one of them even started launching fireballs out of his hands, and Alex knew what had to be done. If he kept running, they would follow him until he was dead, which wouldn't happen unless they blew his head off or removed his heart. He didn't like it, but he knew he had to kill them. He stopped, turned around, extended his wrist blade, and roared at them in defiance.

He launched a flame wave that hit one of them and sent them flying into a tree, his charred corpse sliding to the ground. Another screamed in anger and charged him, only to be swatted away by a mighty claw. But this one didn't die. It seemed there was something protecting them. It experimented by roasting her with another flame wave, leaving her in the same state as the first. Whatever was protecting them, it didn't seem to do anything against his hellfire. So he developed a new strategy. He would knock them away with a swipe of his hand and then bathe them in hellfire. His rocket launcher was good at taking care of anyone who kept their distance, not getting within swipe range.

The entire time he felt like someone was watching from a distance. Observing and learning. He ignored it. He figured it was just paranoia that one would escape. When all were dead, he was tired and even a little wounded. His heart would heal them in time, but that didn't mean it didn't hurt. As he trudged away, he thought about the people he'd killed. He thought if they had any family waiting for them wherever they came from. He banished those thoughts, they were looking for a fight and refused to back down or leave him alone. It was their fault. They forced his hand. And he wouldn't hesitate to kill anymore of these monster hunters if they attacked him.

After an hour of walking, killing Grimm and allowing his heart to heal his wounds, he found another cave. He explored it with caution, examining every corner to ensure nothing was hiding in it. After thoroughly searching it and being satisfied by the lack of residents, he took up shelter. He was tired after all the fighting, so he went right to sleep. As he slumbered, not a single dream met him, only darkness. He would wander the darkness as his body rested. It was peaceful.


	2. Redemption

When Alex awoke from his peaceful slumber, his heart had fully healed any wounds, no matter how small. Nothing ached either, so that was a large bonus. He stood up to go hunt some sinners, as he'd taken to calling them, and maybe even kill some Grimm while he was at it. He started salivating at the thought of it. He also took this opportunity to explore. As he wandered the forest, he noticed it smelled a little strange. It wasn't sin, that was for certain, but it was something else. He started following in the scent, and eventually he found a beach. It was peaceful here, kind of like the darkness in his dreams, though not nearly as quiet.

He sat down and gazed over the vast blue sea. He had been sitting for a while, to the point that creatures he had previously scared away were returning, not seeing him as a threat. Some crabs started scuttling around him, seagulls began perching on him, and a turtle accidentally lit itself on fire when it tried going into its rocket launcher barrel. He got a good chuckle out of that.

He thought about everything that'd happened over the past month or so. He didn't know how long he'd been there. He'd started having doubts that the UAC would find him. He didn't doubt they would try, the Cyberdemon was one of their most prized possessions after all, but he was worried they just wouldn't be able to find him. He was on a random world that they had never even heard of before, so the chances of them figuring out which one were slim to none. He sighed in defeat.

He was brought from his thoughts when he heard a twig snap behind and to his right. He turned his head around and saw someone who looked like a hunter. She had shoulder-length black hair with red tips and silver eyes. She was wearing a long white cape and a black corset. She was frozen in place and staring at him, her face white as a sheet. He didn't attack her, he only looked at her with a curious gaze. She drew her weapon, a staff with two scythe blades on either end, preparing for a fight, but looked confused when he didn't do anything. He desperately hoped she wouldn't attack him, she smelled of purity, the first time he had ever smelled anything like that.

When he continued to not do anything, she folded up her weapon and cautiously backed away. After a few minutes of relaxing, hee was about to get up and leave himself, when he picked up another scent. Sin. And it was potent and near. It was stronger than the woman in black's and made him very hungry. He held himself back however, giving into his bloodlust would do nothing good. So he stood and began following the scent. It wasn't actually as close as he thought, it was just really powerful.

When he finally neared the source, he crouched down and hid himself in the trees. It helped that they were taller than they normally were, as well as the fact that night had fallen. He gazed into a clearing, and saw two people in a standoff. One was the woman in white, her weapon drawn and ready, while the other was a man he hadn't seen before, but was the source of the stench. He had a wild look in his eyes and had two wrist blades extended. They were talking, but he wasn't paying attention to what they were saying. Instead, he focused on not going mad with hunger, and coming up with a plan of attack. The man was probably fast and agile, as evidenced by his slim figure and choice of weapons.

Before he could think further, the sinner lunged at the woman in white. He watched them fight, watched as they went back and forth, one gaining the advantage, losing it, then regaining it. For what felt like hours, but was probably only half of one, they continued like this, before the sinner knocked her down and went to stab her. She blocked his weapons with her own. That was when he revealed his belt was actually a large scorpion tail wrapped around his waist, disguised as a belt. That's when the demon made his move.

Right when the sinner was about to stab the pure one, he grabbed the offending tail with his massive claw. He lifted him into the air, raising to his feet as he did so, standing at his full height, his body illuminated by the moonlight and giving him a terrifying aura. He brought the sinner in front of his face, observing him with his four glowing, yellow eyes. The sinner's psychotic grin was nowhere to be found, instead replaced with a horrified slack jaw. The stench finally overcame him, and he couldn't restrain himself any longer. He put him in his mouth, still holding his tail through his mandibles, and bit his tail off, leaving the man in his mouth. His cries of pain reverberated throughout his head, and he silenced them with a single chew, the screams being replaced with the cracking of bones and the succulent flavor of flesh.

He subconsciously sifted through his sinful memories, of which there were many. Any non-existent guilt he could've possibly felt vanished upon seeing the things the man, Tyrian Callows, had done. When he finished savoring the flavor, he swallowed and looked down at the woman of purity. She had stood up, leaving her weapon on the ground, looking at him with horror, her hands shaking. Her body language said she was about to run. He was about to take a step towards her, when he belched loudly, Tyrian's gauntlets flying out. That was enough motivation for her to run, not even bothering to pick up her weapon. She was fast, and he didn't want to further spook her by giving chase.

He picked up the weapon she had left behind and examined it. It was truly a thing of beauty. He decided he would return it to her, should she ever return. It saddened him, a being of such purity, nearly laid low by a filthy sinner. The memories told him there were others he worked with, but he only had visual images, not names, though doubted names would matter. He would hunt them down and consume them all, along with whoever was leading them. Such a crime can, and will not, go unpunished. If he was to be stuck on this world for the rest of his life, he would make his mark on it. He would make sinners like the White Fang and this mystery group fear the mention of him. And he would not be held on a leash like an attack dog. He knew there would be people who would gladly exploit him, and he would consume them as well.

He returned to his cave and found a safe place to hide the woman's weapon, ensuring nobody would find it. He was too excited to sleep, so he went on a nighttime hunt. As he hunted, he also searched for any towns he could watch over and protect from attack. He walked along the beach, hoping to find one. After hours of wandering, all he'd found was Grimm. He'd fought a massive two headed snake at one point, it was an exhilarating fight, but other than that, not much. But in the distance, he could see lights. He walked closer, and realized it was a coastal town. Perfect. He sat there and waited for something to happen, but nothing did. For two days straight he watched over the town, only leaving to hunt. But eventually, his patience rewarded him.

A large group of White Fang had started attacking the town, but Alex waited until they were all within the town before making his move. He wanted to ensure none of the scumbags would escape his wrath. Fifteen minutes after the attack started, the demon started moving towards the town. One of the sinners saw him and yelled to his comrades.

"Holy shit, it's the Emerald Demon!" He yelled in fear, and began shooting at him. The bullets merely bounced off his skin. He stabbed him with a claw and tossed him into the ocean. He let out a ferocious roar, alerting any sinners who didn't know he was there, and began killing the attackers. He tried to eat as many as he could, the others he simply stabbed or crushed. He didn't use his hellfire or rocket launcher for fear of destroying the town. He slashed, crunched, and feasted his way through the town, not harming a single innocent. Eventually there was only one sinner left, but she wasn't like the others. Her soul wasn't tainted nearly as much as the others. He picked her up and got a closer look at her. She seemed to be just older than a teenager. She was crying and apologizing profusely, begging him not to kill her, saying she was forced to go. The lack of sin on her soul backed up that claim. He brought her out of the town and set her down. Then he managed to force out one word that made his order clear.

" **Leave."** It sounded more like a growl than a word, but it resembled one enough to get the message across. She ran into the forest, still crying her eyes out. He wondered if that decision would come back to bite him in the ass later down the line. He turned around to view the town. The townspeople were staring at him, watching to see what he'd do. He simply grumbled and walked away. He could hear their shouts of celebration from a far distance. He thought back to what he'd been called. "The Emerald Demon". He had no idea where the Emerald part came in, but he knew the name would stick and be spread now that he'd saved this town. He returned to his cave the happiest he'd been since arriving on this world. And he would sleep for a long time, enjoying the void.


	3. Notoriety

It had been a month since Alex had started actively wandering the forest. Apparently it was called the Emerald Forest, which explains the nickname he had been given. He had been carrying the woman of purity's staff during his journey, hoping to come across her and return it. As he had been travelling, he had defended quite a few villages and towns from all manner of threats, ranging from Grimm to White Fang to even that bandit group, though the woman in black wasn't there. The legend of the Emerald Demon was spreading. The entire time a strange crow would follow him, watching him but not doing anything. It left every so often, but it always returned. He had gotten used to its presence, and it would even watch as he destroyed any threats to a village.

But as he walked through the forest, the crow was nowhere to be seen, it had disappeared a few days ago and never returned. He was worried it had been killed by a predator while out getting food. It saddened him a little, but he shook it off. It was only a bird after all. As he neared the next town he'd seen from atop a cliff, he had a bad feeling. Nobody had tried exploiting him yet, but that didn't mean he wasn't prepared should someone try anything. The only thing he'd had regarding human contact was when some towns would give him food for defending them. They never once tried to force him to leave.

But as he neared the town, he saw there were Hunters everywhere. They had stopped hunting him after the third or fourth town was saved by him, but he was still wary of them. But these ones seemed much younger than the ones he had fought before. They were children, likely trainees. Seeing the town was well protected and not in any immediate danger, he went to leave, but he smelled something. It was Sin. A fair amount of it. Not enough to make him attack, but enough to cause suspicion.

He looked back at the town and tried to discern who it was. Eventually he locked onto one individual, an old man with a green coat and cane, standing on the wall surrounding the town. The old man was staring at him as well, almost like he wanted to talk to him. Upon making eye contact, the old man indicated for him to sit in front of him. Initially he just wanted to leave, but his curiosity got the better of him. He stomped over and sat down in front of the old man, waiting to see what he wanted.

The man introduced himself as Professor Ozpin, Headmaster of Beacon Academy. Titles didn't matter to Alex, only intentions. And he made his intentions clear when he asked Alex if he would like to return to Beacon with him and help him with something, he stopped listening after he asked if he would like to go with him. He was trying to turn him on his "side" for something. Alex cut off whatever Ozpin was saying by standing up and walking away. This action baffled Ozpin, apparently not used to being denied so bluntly.

"Why don't you want to help me?" Annoyance creeping in his voice. Alex had been practicing speaking during his alone time. Turns out the Cyberdemon HAD been upgraded with vocal cords, but he'd never bothered trying to use them since he didn't know they were there. And he used that practice to tell Ozpin exactly why he wouldn't work with him.

" **You smell of Sin."** He growled out. Ozpin's face went white, confirming his suspicions. He had only wanted to use him for his own ends. He turned around and walked away, ignoring his shouts to wait. He continued through the forest for an unknown amount of time. He wondered when he would try again with trying to recruit him to whatever cause he had. Men like that didn't take to kindly to being denied something they wanted. If he tried something more nefarious, he wouldn't hesitate to eat him, along with anyone who tried to stop him.

**Back with Ozpin**

Ozpin was dumbfounded. The Emerald Demon could smell someone's sins. That explains why it didn't attack Summer but viciously devoured the man who attacked her. That would be a problem. He counted himself lucky he hadn't been devoured. But he needed to get it on his side if he was to defeat Salem. It was confirmed now that the Demon was, in fact, intelligent, and had a sense of morality, to an extent anyway. Its knack for cannibalizing its victims hadn't gone unnoticed. Nor was its ability to absorb Grimm ash into the device implanted in its chest. And now he knew for a fact it could speak, Qrow had told him before that it had been making weird noises while travelling.

It also seemed to have a strange fascination with Summer. After she had forgotten her weapon during her bid to get away from the Demon, and it had been carrying it with it ever since. He wondered if it was so he could return it. He would have to bring Summer along next time.

"Well that went well." Qrow said as he stepped out of the shadows.

"We are returning to Beacon." Ozpin said with mild annoyance. As they walked back, he couldn't get over the Demon's glare. It felt like he was judging his soul.

**Deep in the Emerald Forest, one week later**

Alex was sitting in a cave, once again examining the woman of purity's weapon. It was truly a beautiful device. It could fold up into a rifle, he'd seen it used that way while she had been fighting the scorpion man, but he couldn't figure out how to switch it between modes, so he'd have to be mindful of the blades on either end. The crow had returned for a day, then left after a couple hours. He was becoming suspicious of it. He silently hoped it didn't return.

As he continued sitting there, lost in his thoughts, he smelled it again. Sin. And it was powerful. Almost as powerful as the scorpion man. He stood and began following the scent. As he walked through the forest, he heard the buzz of engines above him. He looked up and saw a flying vehicle he had seen a few times before. The smell was coming from it. As it neared, he noticed it was flanked by four other Flyers. He prepared for battle.

The lead Flyer opened fire with its machine guns. He raised his arm and blocked the bullets. Soone the others opened fire as well. He returned fire with his rocket launcher, shooting down two of them. He got a better look at the Flyers and saw the White Fang symbol on the sides of them. This just fueled his hunger. He launched a flame wave at the one on his direct right. It went to dodge but the hellfire still took out one of its engines, causing it to crash to the ground. The fourth one got too close and Alex grabbed it with his claw. It tried to pull away, but his strength prevented it. He stuck his gun right into the cockpit and fired, obliterating it. The one where the stench of Sin was strongest turned to fly away, but he wasn't going to let it. He got a running start before leaping into the air and grabbing onto its wing. Its engines were much stronger than the others, allowing it to continue flying, even as he held on.

He wrapped his gun arm around the wing, preventing him from falling off, before tearing the bay doors off. Inside he was surprised to only see one person. It was a woman with a glowing dress. She reeked of Sin, and was the source of it. He recognized her from Tyrian's memories, she was Cinder Fall, one of the members of the Circle of Sin, as he'd started calling it.

" **Cinder."** He spoke. The fact he knew her name must've surprised her, as she took a step back in shock. He went to grab her, but she blasted him in the face with fire. It burned with a mild pain, causing him to lose his grip on the wing. Out of reflex he grabbed the side with his claws, tearing apart the metal. He started focusing on trying to bring the Flyer down, but couldn't keep his grip and fell off. He did manage to shoot one of the engines though, causing it to leave a trail of smoke for him to follow. And so began the hunt for Cinder Fall. And her judgement would come.

**With Cinder**

Cinder was terrified. The monster that killed Tyrian knew who she was. It was also much stronger than she thought it would be. It had destroyed her fleet with ease and had almost taken her with them. Not to mention it was intelligent, and not some mindless beast roaming the Emerald Forest. She looked back out the door and saw it staring at her with a hungry gaze. Even when they were first approaching, it seemed to single her out of the rest of the Bullheads, despite it looking just like a regular one. Almost like it could sense her. She would have to tell her Mistress about this failure. And she wasn't looking forward to that.


	4. The Hunt

Alex was currently hunting Cinder through the Emerald Forest. He had followed the smoke pouring from her Flyer until he heard it crash. He found the crash site but not Cinder herself. All the other people on the aircraft had been killed on impact, but Cinder had escaped. He was hunting her, following the smell of Sin to locate her. It's impossible to tell the difference between scents at a distance unless they are vastly different, but considering they were in the middle of the Emerald Forest with the nearest form of civilization being dozens of miles away, that shouldn't be a problem. He had to be quiet however, so as not to alert her to his presence. Which wasn't working very well, considering his massive size. After a few minutes of trying to get close to her stealthily, he gave up and just decided to run her down. He was certainly fast enough to do it.

As he was following her, he got the feeling she was leading him somewhere, most likely a trap. But even if it was a trap, he was confident in his ability to destroy them. Their high caliber machine guns barely scratched his thick hide, so what would they do? Wait. His hide. Back on Mars, when he was still human, he'd seen durability tests performed on the Cyberdemon. Sure, it was extremely tough, but the things being thrown at him now should've caused some serious damage. And yet he rarely felt any of it. Had his hide been toughened along with the Tether System being installed before the incident? And if so, what other upgrades did they install before the test? He shook his head to rid himself of those thoughts. He'd test himself later, but not now. Now? He had prey to hunt.

After what felt like a half an hour of chasing Cinder, he emerged from the treeline and into a massive city. It looked like it was in ruins, with overgrown plant life and crumbling structures everywhere. He'd never been here before, but he'd seen it in the distance before. He didn't know it was a ruin. He stopped that train of thought and continued the hunt. As he wandered through the city-turned-tomb, he began smelling more sources of Sin. He realized that she may have just led him to her base. He grew excited, all that Sin would be a feast unlike any he'd had before. But as he continued to explore, he couldn't find it anywhere. It smelt like he was right on top of it, and it frustrated him.

After another HOUR of searching, night was beginning to fall. He decided to rest in one of the hollowed out buildings. If he was lucky, they'd try to kill him in his sleep, then run when he woke up. Then it'd be as simple as following them to their base. As he drifted off to sleep, he thought back to the woman in white. He figured out how to turn her staff into a rifle, and had found a little gap in the armor plating to store it. He would clear out this festering cancer, then return to searching for her. But as he tried to sleep, he was jolted awake by someone talking. He focused on it, but couldn't make out what they were saying. Then he sniffed, and he was wide awake. It smelled of the woman in white. He quickly, but quietly, got up and started making his way over.

As he drew closer, he could make out multiple voices, along with the occasional bark of a dog. If she was with a group, they could help him find the base. After walking a bit, he could see across the street a campfire, just at eye level. He focused in through the window, and saw not the woman in white, but someone else. She looked just like her, but much younger, far too young to be her. But she possessed those silver eyes that the woman held, and smelled of her as well. He came to the conclusion that this was her daughter.

As he continued to watch, he saw someone pass by the window. He immediately recognized her. It was the young White Fang he had spared at the coastal town. She was much older. Too old to make sence. When he had met her, she was very young, and in the time between then and now, she had grown much older. But how? Was there any lapses in time? He thought back to see if there was any- wait. He remembered. When he sat in the cave before being attacked by Cinder, he had been completely lost in thought. The only reason he had snapped out of it was because of Cinder. It had only felt like a couple days, but how long had he actually been there, completely isolated from the world?

As he pondered this, he noticed one of the other group members was looking at him. She probably couldn't see him well, considering how dark it now was, but she could probably see his eyes. He watched her back. She had long golden hair and was not as well dressed as one should be for how chilly it probably was. She called to the side, and the cat girl looked out the window, and she screamed and stumbled back. That was his cue to leave. He began trudging away, but got stopped by a pack of wolf Grimm. He tried to simply push past them, he didn't want to be caught by the girls, but they were insistent on fighting him.

He simply launched a flame wave, incinerating them all but making a loud boom. He went from trudging to running really quick after that. But that just caused more noise. He gave up on trying to get away, and instead turned to face them. There were two others that he had not seen. A white haired girl with an equally white dress, and a green haired man dressed like an explorer. There was also a Corgi. He was very confused by that.

The group got ready to fight, and in a bid to intimidate them, he growled and stomped the floor. He then promptly fell through said floor. It was quite the drop, and it hurt quite a bit when he landed on his back. He rolled off of whatever he had just crushed, stood up and clutched his head. It had hit the ground pretty hard and would definitely hurt later. He growled to himself, shook his head, and looked around. He was surrounded by White Fang. The thing he had landed on was a train car, which had been completely crushed under his weight. There was a pause as everyone stared at him.

 _So this was where the base was._ He thought.

_Welp, time to do what I do best._

He roared and started firing missiles into the crowd, obliterating anyone in the blast zones. The Sinners started to run around and panic like ants. While he was firing missiles, he also started launching hellfire into the crowd, incinerating many of them. He heard someone yell about the train, and he looked back. Turns out the car he had landed on was the one right behind the train itself, so whatever cargo they had wasn't going anywhere. He looked back to the crown and took an explosive to the face. He stumbled a bit and looked to see who fired it. His eyes locked on a well dressed man holding a cane like a gun. He smelled of Sin more than the others, though not by much. But he was still a target. He roared in anger and started making a beeline for him, ignoring everyone else.

He blasted him, but he just shattered like glass. He heard a horn behind him go off and turned around to see the train starting to move. He quickly ran to it and grabbed onto the back. It had started picking up speed while still dragging him along. He was struggling to pull himself up onto the train due to how fast it had started going. He couldn't move his gun arm because of the momentum, and could barely pull himself up. The few White Fang that were on the train had started trying to pry his claw off, to no avail.

After a minute of going faster and faster, he saw they were coming up on a dead end. He braced himself for impact, and they went flying through the top of the tunnel. He had let go of the train by accident and was sent flying through the air. He collided with something hard, but not hard enough to stop him from almost going through it. Stars danced in his vision as he struggled to focus. When he finally shook off what should've been a concussion, he realized he was in a building. An inhabited one. It looked like an office building filled with terrified people. He had probably crushed a few of them during his less than stellar landing. He clawed his way out, which took some effort since he had gone halfway through the damn thing, and looked at the carnage. The train had blown a massive hole in what looked like the middle of a highly populated city. There was rubble and dead bodies everywhere. He saw the well dressed man being taken away by some men in white armor, but stopped when he growled. He made his way over to the man and picked him up, intent on eating him.

"Put the man down, now!" One of the soldiers ordered him, but he silenced them all with a glare. He brought the man closer to his face.

" **Where is Cinder Fall?"** He asked in as intimidating of a voice he could muster, which wasn't all that hard.

"What the fuck?!" He responded with shock and fear.

" **Answer me!"** He roared.

"I-I-I don't know, just please put me down!" He cried in fear.

" **Useless."** He grunted before dropping the sad little man into his mouth and swallowing him whole. He noticed that everyone was staring at him, which wasn't a big surprise. He _was_ a bigass demon after all. He went to climb back into the hole and look for stragglers when something hit him in the back. He turned and saw a large mech, almost as big as him. It's fist made it clear who hit him. The mech went to lunge at him, but he simply let it impale itself on his blade. When it didn't die, he stuck his gun in the cockpit and fired, stopping its movement. Whoever had been controlling it clearly wasn't good at it. But that encouraged everyone to start running and yelling in fear. The soldiers from before started firing at him. He just sighed in disappointment before going back into the hole. If there was nobody left, he would feast on them, then go back to his cave and sleep. Today had not been great.


	5. Worship

Alex recently found out there was a cult worshiping him. He discovered it when he was relaxing in a cave, when a group of people in red robes approached him. They didn't say anything and didn't seem threatening, so he just watched them. He then noticed they had a prisoner. He was about to help the man escape, but then he smelt the Sin wafting off him. He knew then and there these robed men and women were sacrificing this Sinner for whatever he had done.

He had been bound and gagged, and as soon as he saw Alex he started struggling and making muffled cries. He debated actually eating him, but didn't see the harm in it since the man's stench was fairly strong. He picked him up and dropped him in his mouth, his mandibles clamping shut with a loud _thump_ , crunching and letting the flavour wash over his tongue. Then one of the cultists stepped forward and spoke up.

"We come to you, Molag Bal, in our time of need." He said, his head bowed. Molag Bal? Was that what they were calling him? Alex didn't object. It was a pretty badass name.

"More of these heathens plague the forest surrounding our humble town. The mayor refuses to call for help. He is corrupt, and taking bribes, along with most of the guards. They allow the bandits to do with us as they please." So, someone wasn't playing nice with the people they were supposed to protect? That was unacceptable in Alex's eyes.

" **I shall aid you in this endeavor."** He said in his deep, rumbling voice. " **To work with evil is an unforgivable sin."**

All of the cultists sighed with relief. "We thank you, o great Hunter of the Damned. Please, follow us." With that, they led him to their town. It wasn't that far away, which explained how they were able to avoid Grimm. When they arrived, a group of guards looked like they were about to apprehend the cultists, before Alex emerged from the treeline. Each of the guards smelled of Sin. It explained how the Mayor had gotten away with all of the crimes he had committed against the people. They ran, and Alex was only able to grab and eat one of them. One of the guards ran into the town hall, and not long after, a Bullhead started rising from one of the pads.

He shot it down with a missile to one of the engines, sending it crashing back into the building. He stomped over to the hole to search for survivors. He found a fat man in a suit impaled on a piece of rebar. He assumed it was the Mayor. Or, _was_ , the Mayor. He was a little annoyed that he wasn't able to kill the bastard more directly, but at least he was dead. He turned around, and saw each of the guards had been captured by the people and lined up before the, all bound and gagged. He observed each of them closely, hoping not all of them were guilty. He eventually stopped at a young man, tears streaming down his face. He did not smell of Sin as the others did.

" **You."** He pointed to the man. He looked up, his face white as a piece of paper. " **You are innocent, for a smell no Sin on you. Release him."** He ordered the citizens-turned-cultists. Then cut his bindings and a young girl embraced him. He turned his attention back to the other guards. The young man was the only innocent among them. The rest had sealed their fates.

" **You all abandoned your people for petty bribes from evil men, and expected no consequences? Your souls are not only foul, but they fill with arrogance."** He could feel the fear wafting off of them. He turned to the cultists gathered around. " **Do with them as you wish, for I shall sustain myself on the corpses of the bandits."** One of them pointed east of the town, and as he turned and walked to the bandit camp, listening to the cries of the guards mixing with the excited shouts of the cultists, he thought if maybe the woman in black would be there. The bandit they had first brought him didn't look like the ones he saw all those years ago, but he still hoped. But for now, he had a feast to attend.

As Alex began to near the camp, he began to smell something. There were copious amounts of Sin, of course, but there was something else. It smelled familiar, and yet he'd never smelled it before. It was unnerving to say the least. When he got closer to the camp, he realized it was built near the mouth of a small cave, much too small for him to fit. When he got close he began to make out more details. There were cages full of people, some men, some women, and more than a few children. There were also runes painted in blood surrounding the cave mouth. This wasn't a bandit crew. This was another cult. And this one was far more malicious than the one worshipping him. He had to put an end to it.

He made his presence known by blasting what could be considered the front gate with hellfire, incinerating any guards standing watch. The rest of them scrambled like ants, using anything they had available to harm him, to little avail. He began consuming the cultists to feed his growing hunger, but being careful not to harm any of the innocents in the cages. After a minute, many of the cultists turned tail and ran into the forest. Alex was about to hunt them down, when he felt something jump onto his back and start clawing at him. It was attacking wildly, but it wasn't mindless. It was going for the spots between his armor plates, and it hurt like hell.

He struggled to reach it at first, but eventually it climbed to high and he snatched it. He brought it forward so he could get a look at it. His eyes widened in shock. It resembled an Imp in containment at the UAC, but still very different. It was much more muscular than an Imp. It had three small, beady eyes that glowed yellow, and a mouth full of razor sharp teeth that opened much like a Cacodemon when it roared at him in rage while struggling in his grasp. Its skin was purple and black, with a row of bones going down its back. But its most distinguishing features were the jagged claws on each of its fingertips. It was a Prowler. Prowlers were extremely rare, to the point that most Tier 2s thought they didn't exist.

He then noticed the metal device implanted in its chest. It was identical to the one that was in his. It was a Tether System. The bastards at the UAC had tried the same experiment, just on a different demon. But that didn't make any sense. If there was the mind of a human it there, why was it acting so rabid? He would have his questions answered later, but now he had to take this poor bastard to someplace secure. He knocked it out with a flick to the head, freed the captives, then made the trek back to the town.

When he returned to the town, he had read the sign and it said 'Fyrestone', the guards had all been crucified on top of the wall, 'TRAITOR' carved into their chests. Where they got the crosses was beyond him, but he didn't care. The people initially celebrated his return, but quickly quieted down when they saw what he was carrying.

" **Where is your doctor?"** He asked. A short man stepped forward.

"I-I am, o great Molag Bal." He spoke in a nervous voice.

" **Take him."** He gently placed the Prowler at the doctor's feet. " **Take him to whatever medical clinic you have, keep him unconscious and discern if there is anything wrong with him. When I discovered him, he was feral, so be cautious. I shall remain here until you have figured out what is driving him mad and the Hunters have arrived."**

"Yes, my Lord." The doctor motioned for someone, and some more people picked up the unconscious demon and took him away. He left the town and sat outside its gate, next to the road. He contemplated the previous events. Another demon was on Remnant. This meant the UAC had performed the same experiment they performed on him on another person without taking the necessary precautions. He would have to keep an eye and an ear out for news of anything that could indicate another demon being sent here, in case the UAC continued on this path.

He heard a flutter of wings and saw a crow begin flying away. It made him angry. The Beacon Bastard, as he'd taken to calling Ozpin, was sure to hear of this. He hated that man. He was crafty, and didn't seem like the type of person to like being told 'no'. If he came for the Prowler, no matter his intentions, he would slay him, along with any who would help him.


	6. Kar En Tuk

After a few days of waiting, the doctor, who's name Alex had discovered was Samuel Lakeside, returned to him. He said that the device implanted in the Prowler's chest wasn't placed properly and was causing excruciating pain. He was being driven mad by the agony. The good doctor wasn't able to safely remove it, but he did fix it so the pain stopped.

" **Good. Release him and tell him to come talk to me. I would like to have a few words with him."** He said. The doctor nodded and scampered off. He once again wondered if other failed experiments had come to this world. He would have to keep an eye out for them.

After an hour he heard a very quiet thud behind him. He turned around and saw the Prowler perched atop the wall encircling the town.

"I thank you for bringing me here, and apologize for attacking you. I was not in my right mind." He spoke with a raspy and low voice, like a harsh whisper.

" **Why were you in that cave, surrounded by cultists?"**

"The humans captured me and imprisoned me. They thought if they fed me enough I would grow calm and obey them like a common war dog." He snarled.

" **Do you remember how you came to this world?"**

The creature paused for a moment, before answering. "I cannot. I vaguely remember my life before. I remember working for a large company, but what it was or what it did I cannot recall. And when it comes to my arrival, I remember a bright blue light mixed with swirling red, an alarm, many voices chanting, and then nothing." That concerned him. If the Prowler could barely remember anything from before Remnant, then he wouldn't know what happened after his own disappearance.

" **Do you at least remember your name?"**

"No. Since I do not remember my old name, I gave myself a title. Kar En Tuk, for that is what the voices roared." Kar En Tuk. It sounded familiar, but he didn't know where.

" **I am Molag Bal, the Hunter of the Damned."** He decided it would be better to go with that rather than reveal his true name. That would require a lot of explaining. " **Do you know if any others like you came to this world?"** This was very important.

"Yes, there was one other, but he was not sent to this world. He was sent to another, one much different than this one." Well, that was good. Less rogue demons to worry about. "Since you saved me, I am willing to follow you wherever you go as a companion." Tempting. He would be excellent for anything that required a more delicate touch.

" **Very well. We leave immediately. The people of this town will be safe once the Hunters arrive."** Kar nodded and hopped on his shoulder. Alex gazed one last time over the town before turning around and leaving into the treeline. " **One last thing. Do not trust the humans. Protect them, but do not allow them to control you. Especially the one called Ozpin from Beacon Academy. He will try to exploit you. Do not speak to him unless it is to deny his wishes."**

"Noted."

" **And tell me if you see a crow watching us."**

" _Duly_ noted."

**2 Weeks Later**

Alex and Kar were working together very well. Whenever there was a situation that required stealth or discretion of any kind, Kar would use his natural stealth to deal with it. For example, just a few days following the beginning of their partnership, they had come across a White Fang base in the dead of night holding civilians as hostage. Kar had entered the building through an air vent, and for an hour not even a gunshot was heard. After that hour, however, the front gates opened, and all the hostages ran out, with Kar behind them. Not only had he killed all the terrorists and freed the hostages without alerting anyone, but he even captured the leader of the base and brought him before the massive demon.

After a short interrogation to see what the man knew, it wasn't much, Alex consumed him. They then escorted the hostages to the nearest town, then left before Hunters could arrive. They returned to the base and Alex destroyed it with a bombardment from his shoulder-launchers. He had honestly forgotten he had them.

After that day, the cultists worshipping him had started seeing Kar as Alex's heir, and began worshipping him on the same level they did Alex. Kar didn't like the attention at first, but has grown accustomed to it. But it turned out the influence of the Followers of Molag Bal was spreading like wildfire across Remnant. While some called for the Hunters to deal with them, most were content to let them do what they pleased. They sacrificed people, yes, but only people who had committed horrible crimes. And instead of killing people who they thought were guilty, they actually researched and investigated those they had marked for death. The Followers weren't bloodthirsty, they just wanted justice.

Alex was happy with what was happening on this world. He was encouraging people to not look the other way when witnessing a crime, though the Followers and Alex were more popular outside the Kingdom walls. From what he heard, the Followers were actively shunned by those in the cities, the police kept close tabs on those who supported the Followers, and he even heard rumours that aspiring-Hunters that actively condoned the Followers had a harder time getting into the four big Academies, especially in Atlas. It angered them both. But they couldn't do anything about it. They just had to hope their people would pull through and rise.

Another development was that Alex discovered something incredible. It was hard to notice, but he realized at one point that his destroyed Tether System embedded in his chest was no longer charred black, and the once jagged metal had begun to smooth over. After some experimentation, he discovered that absorbing the Grimm essence was slowly repairing the device. But it was very slow. It took the essence from a large scorpion to get a single wire to repair itself. But it meant that, after enough time, he would be able to use the Tether System. But he didn't want to return home to Mars, oh no. He wanted to travel to other universes and help whoever he could. But for now, he would help those in need here until the device was fixed. Maybe he could even find that other demon that had been sent to another universe.

And then there was the matter of Ozpin. A group of Hunters from Beacon had attacked Kar while he was out hunting Grimm for sport. They hadn't even managed to hurt him due to his unnatural stealth. He turned the tables on them by making the Hunters the hunted. He stalked them from the trees, taking them out one by one. He didn't leave any survivors. He searched their corpses afterwards and found a letter telling them to capture Kar and bring him back to the sender. It was only signed "O", but it was fairly obvious who it was. It seemed Alex was right about Ozpin not liking being told no. He would just have to keep an eye out for any retaliation.

The two demons were currently traveling from village to village, helping with any threats they located. There weren't many, as the legend of the two had struck fear in the hearts of the city, but that didn't prevent the brave and the foolish from pillaging to their heart's content. It was a dull walk as, other than the occasional Grimm, there was nothing but trees.

"Molag." Kar began. "I think we should go to Atlas."

" **And why is that?"** He asked as he continued walking.

"We have done much in Vale, and if we were to go to Atlas, I believe the Followers will keep things at least somewhat under control here."

" **We are not welcome in Atlas. They see us as bloodthirsty monsters in spite of all the good we have done."**

"And that is exactly why we should go. We should show them firsthand that they are wrong. And we may be bloodthirsty, but we only crave the blood of Sinners. Eventually they will have to acknowledge the good we have done."

Alex thought for a moment before answering. " **You make a good point. But how do you think we will get there? It is across the ocean, and neither of us will last long in open water."**

Kar opened his mouth to speak, then closed it as he had nothing to say.

**Elsewhere In The Multiverse**

He walked through the forest, leaves and twigs crunching under his metal boots. He knew not where he was, but he knew it wasn't Earth. The last thing he remembered was a bright blue flash as he was being attacked by a demon. When he came to, he _was_ the demon. As he passed many tall trees, he heard something in the distance. It sounded like someone running towards him. He pulled out his double-barreled sawed off and loaded it. His demonic red eyes scanned his surroundings. He spotted what was making the noise. A figure was sprinting towards him, carrying something small and swaddled in cloth. It was also trailing blood.

He holstered his shotgun and walked toward the figure. He realized it was a woman, dressed in what looked like ancient japanese clothing. She was carrying a baby, her snores indicating she was softly sleeping. She was also clutching a wound in her abdomen that was bleeding heavily. She finally saw him and she gasped and froze at his appearance.

"O-Oni." She whispered in terror. He then heard many more footsteps coming from behind the woman. She started looking between him and the noise, eventually choosing him. She ran behind him. Just then, a band of what looked like knights came into view. They all wore heavy metal armor and were carrying medieval weapons. They froze upon seeing him, much like the woman did. None of them made a sound until one of them pulled out a small golden cross from his pouch.

"Begone, foul spawn of Satan! We do not fear you, for we are Iron Legion! You do not frighten us!"

He pulled out his ax handle and slowly walked toward them. He stopped mere feet from them. He activated his ax, the double sided blade coming to life. The knights jumped in surprise.

" _ **You. Are. Pathetic!"**_ He roared before lunging at the knights. They stood no chance against his unholy blade, and their blades bounced off his armor and barely scratched his flesh. When he was done, there was only a pile of limbs and ruined equipment left. He remembered the woman, and ran back towards her. But when he reached her, she was dead. She had bled out.

He picked up her baby and cradled it. It was still sleeping peacefully, completely oblivious to what had just happened. He knew what to do. He would raise the young girl as his own. As he left the area, he wondered if he had been sent back in time, somehow, and how and if he should go back home. But for now, he guessed he was a father.


	7. The Mass Exodus

It had been a few years since Alralaz, the Marauder had decided to name himself, came to this realm. Quite a few years in fact. He had learned much of this world. He learned of the three factions, locked in an eternal and massive war. The Knights, the Vikings, and the Samurai. He was also glad to learn that English was a common language, typically used when speaking to someone who didn't know your original language. He had raised the young girl, whom he had named Rose. Despite his terrifying appearance, she never feared him. She was now 17, if he remembered correctly. Quite a few years indeed. They lived within a cabin fairly deep in the Myre, the home of the Samurai. It was mainly meant to hide him from the general populace. Since he knew a lot about smithing, thanks to his father's obsession with it, he had started forging various weapons while Rose, or Rozen, as was her name in Japanese, would sell them in the market of a nearby village. They had started earning a fair amount of gold due to the war and the abundant need for weapons and armor. Rose had even told him that people considered him to be the best smith in the region. He was proud of that, but hoped it wouldn't bring too much attention to him.

He continued thinking to himself as he hammered at a piece of metal. He was forging some new shoulder guards for a Shugoki. He had already finished the spikes that would be attached to them, but he still had to do the metal slabs themselves. One good thing about his demonic form was that he seemed to have a large resistance to fire and heat, as well as being able to work for extended periods of time. He never used gloves, as there was no need for them. It made him wonder what kind of fuel the Slayer used for his flamethrower for it to set demons ablaze so easily. He thought back to those first few years of his time here. He had spent almost all of it split between caring for Rose and searching for answers as to why he was here. He had found none. He had stopped the search as he realized he was becoming obsessed with finding the answers, and devoted more time to being a good father.

As he continued to work at the forge, he heard multiple footsteps on the front porch, followed by banging on the door. He left the metal and placed his tools on the shelf next to him before exiting out into the living room. It was fairly modest, only a table with a few chairs and paintings on the walls. He quietly approached the door and listened.

"Why are we not just storming the home of this beast? It is a damned demon, and has killed some of our men in the past." He heard on the other side. This worried him. How did they know about him? It sounded like Knights, so perhaps they were hunting him for what he had done all those years ago? If that was the case, then that meant someone survived and that Knights are good at holding grudges.

"Because the King wishes to see if we can turn it to our side. It seems to be a skilled blacksmith, and may tell us if there are any others like it." Another responded.

" **There are none like me."** He spoke through the door before kicking it open and sending the closest soldier flying back. He strode out onto the porch as the other soldiers got ready to fight. From what he could see, the force was fifteen men strong, ranging from Wardens to Centurions, and even a Black Priar.

"Guess diplomacy is no longer an option!" One of the Wardens shouted before charging with his sword raised for an overhead strike. Alralaz blocked it with ease and severed the fool in half at the waist, ending his life. While he was distracted, he was knocked off the porch by a Conqueror's shield, but he landed on his feet and turned to face the rest of the warrior band. The Conqueror from before approached him with her shield raised while spinning her flail behind her, preparing for a mighty blow. Right as she went to swing, he brought his shield up in a way that caused the chain to wrap around the side. He took advantage of this by pulling back, wrenching the weapon from her grasp and sending her stumbling forward. With her guard down, he swiftly removed her head with a shotgun blast.

He was about to engage the rest of the group when an arrow came flying out of the brush behind him and bounced off one of his horns. With lightning speed he whirled around and obliterated the archer with a blast of argent energy. Not wanting to be caught off guard again, he summoned an ethereal wolf, a move he had finally mastered after years of practice along with the ability to control animals, to hunt the woods for any other hidden threats. With that front taken care of, he turned back around just in time to dodge a thrown boleadoras.

"Damnare." He heard the Gladiator curse, as that was probably his only one. Alralaz charged back into the fray, hacking and slashing the warriors to pieces. After what felt like an hour of fight, but was probably only a quarter of that, the knights laid dead around him. After catching his breath, he looked towards the village and was filled with further rage as he saw the light and smoke of countless flames. This was very bad, as the village didn't have many samurai defending it since it wasn't seen as very important to the war effort. Faster than any horse, he sprinted to the burning town, praying to whatever god was out there that Rose was alive.

He entered through the shattered gates and immediately began looking around. He heard banging and cries for help behind a door barricaded by burning rubble. He used his enhanced strength to move it aside and rip the door off of its hinges. Billowing smoke came pouring out, followed by a young man leading what might have been his younger sister. He grabbed onto Alralaz for support, as he looked like he was about to collapse.

"Thank you, I thought I was-" He stopped and froze in fear as he looked up and realized what had saved him. He stumbled back while keeping his sister behind him.

" **Where is Rozen?"** Alralaz asked quickly, his voice startling the man. He nervously pointed behind him towards the market. " **Run, and do not look back."** He ordered the man before turning around and running deeper into the town. Along the way, he was ambushed by a viking Berserker, which greatly confused him. Why would the knights and vikings be working together to attack a simple town? When he slew the wild attacker, he looked at the mark painted on the front of his shirt. It didn't match the crest of the Warborn. In fact, it was a symbol he had never seen used by any warrior before. It was a pentagram with a cross above each point. So the knights had hired a band of rogue vikings to help them attack a village? That made more sense than them allying with the Warborn. But he could focus on that later. For now, he still had to rescue Rose.

After an actual hour of fighting his way through knights and vikings, he had finally made it to the market, and it was just as bad as the rest of the place. Bodies were strewn about and stalls and shops were burning, sending smoke and embers into the air. There were also more vikings loading stolen cargo into some carts, ready to be shipped off to wherever they were camped out. But food and weapons weren't the only things being taken. There were also cages filled with prisoners. Among them he spotted Rose, trying to comfort the young children. She was defiant, not being scared by the vikings at all. Being raised by a demon had that effect on you.

Alralaz charged in and slew the viking captors, careful not to hit any of the cages. The prisoners were terrified of him at first, for obvious reasons. But they realized his good intentions when he freed them instead of killing them. Rose explained to them that Alralaz was her father and the one who had been forging the equipment she would sell. As she did this, he searched the bodies of the vikings for any clue as to the whereabouts of their base. Eventually he found a map on a Valkyrie detailing how to get to the cave these "Tyrants" were camped out in, as the note on the map called them. He would've stayed to say goodbye to Rose, but he had no idea when more of these Tyrants would arrive, and he had to kill them at the source before that happened. So he sprinted off in the direction of the cave without a word, ready for whatever they had to throw at him.

**A day of traveling later**

Alralaz had arrived at the Tyrants' lair, and the only reason people hadn't noticed it from the road was because it was very deep in the woods. Their symbol was painted in blood all over the cave mouth, and it smelled of rotting flesh. But what made him even more curious was the fact that all around the cave entrance was a large camp that, he guessed, held the ranks of the Tyrants. So what was the importance of this cave, and why was there nobody here? His guess was that all of the Tyrants had been at the village to attack it, so his worry about reinforcements were unneeded. But still, he felt drawn to the cave by an uncanny sense of familiarity.

As he entered, natural light faded out and was replaced by torchlight. He was very cautious, as he felt like he wasn't alone. As he walked deeper into the cave, he turned a corner and was shocked by what he saw. It was a large space filled with bones and gore. And up against the back wall was a massive throne of bones, and sitting in it was a truly massive creature. It was a demon, a Tyrant to be more specific. That explained the clan name. He had only ever seen one at a distance before his demonification.

The great monster bellowed out a laugh. " **So it's true, I'm not the only one to have been turned into a demon."** The Tyrant spoke, his booming voice reverberating throughout the cave.

" **I am equally surprised by your existence."** Alralaz responded.

" **I guess I shouldn't be, he would want people like us to 'work together' and other shit."** He said with a snarl.

" **And who are you referring to?"** Alralaz had started pacing back and forth, ready to fight if this demon proved to be hostile.

" **You don't know do you?"** He asked with a toothy grin, followed by another laugh. "' **He' is the one who sent us here. He saw that even though the Slayer would undoubtedly defeat the demonic hordes, there would be no way for humanity to recover. So, he gave those that remained a fresh start, replacing our weak human bodies with strong demonic ones, as we would not survive the mass exodus as humans. And it seems we were both** _ **very**_ **lucky with the bodies we were given** _ **Alralaz."**_ He drew out the word in an effort to shock the other demon with his knowledge. He failed.

" **And what would your name be?"** Alralaz asked, feeling the tension in the air thicken.

" **I am Garrazar."** He said as he rose from his throne of death and stood to his full height, almost touching the ceiling. " **And I don't like competition of any kind."** And with those final words, he charged Alralaz with a terrifying roar.

**Back on Remnant**

Richard reviewed today's patrol reports in his office. When the large man had joined the White Fang and became leader of one of the bases in the Emerald Forest, he hadn't expected so much paperwork. As he continued to look them over, he heard a knock at the door.

"What, I'm busy." He called.

"We found a human wandering around outside asking for you by name." He heard on the other side. "We figured we'd bring him to you since you haven't gotten to kill one in a while." The statement was followed by some laughing.

"Well toss him in here!" He said with a grin. The door opened and two of his subordinates came in with a man in cuffs. The human was very scrawny and completely lacked any hair on his head.

"So, before I kill you, I'll ask you one question." Richard said as he brought out a wicked looking hunting knife. "Who are you and what are you doing here?" He realized that was two questions, but it didn't matter. Bastard would be dead soon anyway. The pale man looked up at him with fiery red eyes and a manic grin.

"My name is Zolgath." Was all he said before exploding in a shower of blood and gore, killing the two guards next to him and sending Richard flying into the back wall. He was about to get up, before he felt a cold and wet hand grab him by the throat and drag him up the wall. He opened his eyes and was horrified by what he saw. "Zolgath" had transformed into a terrifying monster. It was skeleton so tall it had to duck a bit just to fit in the room. It had some kind of armor with strange guns on its shoulders. He almost vomited at the sight as he looked into its white, glossy eyes.

" **And I'm here to feast on your flesh!"** It screamed before ripping his heart out of his chest and eating it in front of him, dropping his rapidly dying body to the floor and blasting a hole in the wall. It then flew out and began wreaking havoc on the rest of the White Fang from the air.


	8. Seafaring Demon

_ Molag Bal wandered through the Dreamscape, once again engrossed in the dark silence, the shallow waters below his feet splashing without sound as he walked through them. Or, at least, that’s what normally happened. What was really happening was he was having the first dream since he became the Cyberdemon, or maybe it was a vision, he wasn’t sure. He found himself in a massive underground cavern, illuminated in a dull orange by dozens of bubbling magma pits. Along the walls were entrances to branching caves of various sizes, no doubt dug there to house the cavern’s various inhabitants. Along with those, there were many different buildings spread around the cavern floor, though he couldn’t determine their purposes. _

_ The cavern was silent barring the bubbling of the liquid stone. But as he neared the entrance of a particularly large cave offshoot, he began to hear something coming from that direction. It sounded like the roaring of a frenzied crowd, though it sounded far more animalistic than it should have. He entered the tunnel and walked through the darkened passage, seeing a few further offshoots to the sides. The roaring began to get louder as he neared, and he could have sworn he heard chanting of some kind. _

_ He exited the passageway and came face to face with a huge coliseum, not unlike the famous one from Earth. He was in the stands, and said stands were packed to the brim with demons. The spectators ranged from lowley Imps to a few Tyrants taking up higher seats. And they were all roaring excitedly as they watched the battle in the arena. In said arena, there were three Barons in a fight to the death with a large King Taijitu. _

_ The Barons were playing it smart, keeping their distance from the snake and only attacking when they saw the chance, slashing at it with flaming wrist blades and dodging with surprising agility. After a few minutes of hit and run tactics, two of the Barons managed to distract the heads, allowing the third Baron to jump past the white head, using his blades to decapitate it in the process. The black head roared in pain as its other half was swiftly removed. During this moment of weakness, another Baron jumped atop its head, grabbing onto both sides a pulling. The snake writhed around, desperately trying to remove the demon. He punched it in the head, knocking it to the ground and dazing it. The Baron then reached around its head and grabbed its fangs before pulling backwards, forcing the beast’s maw open. And as he continued to pull, he secured his hands on the monster’s further-back teeth and continued pulling, this time with a better grip. The snake continued roaring in pain, even as the sounds of tearing flesh and cracking bones drowned it out, before with one mighty yank, the entire top half of the snake’s skull came off, killing the King Taijitu. _

_ The Baron raised its trophy to the air and roared in triumph, and the crowd erupted in deafening roars of excitement, the wave of energy and noise forcing the Cyberdemon out of his slumber. _

**Elsewhere in the waking world**

Zolgath darted through the air, bringing death and destruction through his rocket launchers. The White Fang had been taken completely off guard by his “arrival”. He let out a ghostly shriek as he obliterated the engines of a Bullhead that was preparing to take off. The Faunus continued to fire on him, but it did nothing. Due to him being half human, he had an Aura, and a rather large one at that. Most shots taken at him missed due to him zipping through the air and raining missiles down on them, and what few hit their mark bounced off his Aura.

A few made a break for the forest, but he wasn’t worried about them actually escaping. Those that he missed the Grimm would pick off later. He finally landed to give his jetpack a break, and that was when the remaining White Fang became more aggressive and charged him. He fired more rockets at them while roaring that horrible sound, and many more fell to his onslaught. As he staunched his flow of explosives, and the adrenaline high wore off, he realized the battlefield had grown silent. All around him were the bodies, and bits of bodies, of his victims, along with the crackling fires produced by the burning fortifications and equipment. He loved this. Standing in the middle of the aftermath, the only thing left breathing.

Right when he was about to leave, he heard shuffling. He turned around and saw a survivor. One of his legs had been blown off at the knee, and he was desperately trying to crawl away. He walked over to him and picked him up by his remaining leg. As he dangled in the air, his mask fell off, forcing him to look into the monster’s eyes without any blockage. His eyes were full of fear, and he was sweating like a pig.

“What the fuck are you?!” He yelled, his warbly voice barely able to speak. Zolgath got right up into the man’s face before answering.

**“I’m a Revenant, and your blood shall feed my soul.”** He said in a deathly whisper. Then, fast as lightning, he clamped his fleshless jaws on the man’s throat and tore it out. He dropped the gurgling man, and the last thing the Faunus saw before his life was extinguished was the monster tearing his other leg off and feasting on it as if it were a chicken wing.

Zolgath spent a good few hours gorging himself on the remains of the battlefield. He may be a Revenant, but the thrill of battle gave him hunger akin to a Mancubus. Speaking of his kin, he began to feel the Call, and knew he had to return home. He lept into the air and took off with his jetpack, not knowing there were a pair of eyes watching from the treeline, filled with intrigue and slight horror, the owner of the eyes soon reaching for his Scroll.

**In a cave deep not too far from Vale**

Molag Bal sat alone in the cave he and Kar were currently calling home as they travelled north, contemplating the vision he’d had. He wasn’t sure if it was of the future or present, but for humanity’s sake, he had to assume it was the latter. An underground society of demons sent to Remnant could be disastrous if they proved to be hostile to the other inhabitants of this realm.

After telling Kar about the vision, he had consulted with the Prowler about what to do, and he said that there was no way they could find the cavern they called home without help, and nobody they talked to would help without strings attached. They had initially thought about asking the cult that worshipped them if they could help, but the cult had recently been labelled a terrorist organization in all places except Menagerie, with everyone associated with them being arrested, and the demon duo they worshipped being hunted like animals. All Ozpin’s work, no doubt. Molag Bal had judged him as a Sinner the moment he learned of what he’d done, and he was furious with the man.

He wanted nothing more than to go to Vale and kill him himself, but he knew he wouldn’t stand a chance. They had recently brought in a fleet from Atlas, for what purpose, he didn’t know. But they wielded powerful weaponry that would make short work of even him if they bombarded him enough.

Kar was currently out hunting for fresh food. While Molag Bal could sustain himself on Grimm Essence and the blood of Sinners, the smaller demon still needed to eat regular meat, lest he starve to death. As he waited for his friend to return, he thought about their next move. Going to Atlas wasn’t an option in the slightest. They couldn’t stay in Vale for much longer, as this was Ozpin’s home turf, and would hunt them without mercy. One option he’d thought about was going to Vacuo, as their bodies could easily survive in the harsh desert, but he’d have to talk with Kar about it. There wasn’t much game out there, and it wasn’t like they could buy some in towns.

Another option was Mistral, but he had a bad feeling about that place. He wasn’t sure what was causing it, but he learned to listen to his gut years ago. His final option was to go to Menagerie, the last safe haven for the Cult of Molag Bal. Those who hadn’t been arrested had fled to the island of the Faunus, and were granted a home there under the conditions they not take justice into their own hands. While the Cult was initially upset by this, being distrustful of the authorities, they knew the situation they were in and accepted, thus joining the Faunus in exile.

Now Menagerie was home to both the Cult of Molag Bal and the White Fang, effectively turning the island into a powder keg. For now, they abstained from fighting so as not to put innocent Faunus in the crossfire, but the demon was unsure of how long that peace would last. He guessed it would only take one public fight for it to turn to all out war.

After much consideration, Molag Bal had a plan. They would join the Cult on the island and go from there. Unfortunately, it being an island, they would need a sea vessel to carry them there, and he doubted the Cult had a fleet of any kind they could utilize. But that was where Kar came in. Speaking of, the Prowler entered the cave, holding a freshly killed deer carcass, already munching on its skull.

“Have you come up with a plan?” He asked. Molag Bal nodded.

**“We will go to Menagerie.”**

“Excellent.” Kar said as he ripped one of the deer’s legs off and began stripping the flesh with his claws. “I’m assuming we’re leaving right now?”

**“Yes, but you will be the only one leaving.”**

Kar paused mid bite and stared at the larger monster. “Can you explain?”

**“There is a coastal town not too far from here, however, I am far too large to fit on any vessels they harbor. You will go to the town, hide on a ship destined for Menagerie, and when you arrive, you must try and find a ship large enough for me to fit. Then, bring it to a beach not too far from this cave, and we will both depart for the island.”**

“And what will you be doing while I’m doing this?”

Molag Bal snorted.  **“I will continue to wander and aid the people of Vale, no matter what the old man Ozpin does. But, every Friday, I will return to see if you were successful.”**

“So, should I go then?” Kar asked. Molag Bal nodded and the Prowler turned around and scampered off in the direction of the aforementioned port town.

**A few hours of travel later**

It was currently late at night, as Kar had decided to wait until this time so as to reduce the risk of being noticed. He was atop a hill overlooking the town, and it looked like the only people still out and about were people going home from the pub and dock workers working the night shift. Kar had been watching the town, and had formed a plan of infiltration. On the far side of the town, closest to the water, was an inn mostly used by seamen and their captains while waiting to go back out to sea. His plan was to crawl along the side of the port, using the darkness and water to conceal his movements, then infiltrate the inn. From there, he would sneak into rooms, confident he would be quiet enough as not to wake anybody, and find documents saying which crews were going where. Then he would stow away on one of the ships bound for menagerie.

After going over the plan in his head, he took off, making his way to the town. He went around the side of the town, skirting the large walls protecting the landlocked part of the town. He reached the beach and clung to the side of the stone foundation. Confident the wetness wouldn’t make him slip, he started skittering across the stone, making almost no sound. He crawled along the side like that until he was behind the inn, then he started to crawl up to the surface. But right when he was about to make his way to the building, the doorknob for the door leading into the building started turning. Acting on instinct, he darted back to the ledge and clung to the side, waiting for whoever it was to pass.

But when he heard footsteps approaching, he sunk his body into the cold ocean water, submerging every part of him except his face so he could breathe. He heard the person stop right in front of him, then the distance sound of a zipper. Kar immediately knew what was about to happen, and quickly darted to the side just in time to dodge a stream of piss. Both man and demon sighed in relief, both for different reasons. After a solid minute of the man relieving himself, he finished his business and went back inside. Kar waited until he heard the door close before he emerged from the water.

_ That was close.  _ He thought to himself.

He made his way to the building and began scaling the back, looking for unlocked windows. From what he could hear, it sounded like a large number of people were still at the pub, so he hoped there wouldn’t be anyone home to discover him. He eventually found an unlocked window on the third floor, so he opened it and crawled inside.

The lights were off and the room was silent, indicating that he was alone, but he didn’t know how long. Using his inherent night vision, he began searching the room, opening suitcases and drawers, searching for anything that could tell him where this crew was headed. Judging by the decorations on the walls, swordfish and the like, he assumed this room belonged to a captain. After searching every single place he could, it was, of course, the very last suitcase that contained important looking papers.

He started carefully skimming over each one, taking care to not damage any. After ten or so papers, he found one that spoke of a shipment of exotic food that the “SS Slayer” was supposed to deliver to the coastal village of Ua Huna, Menagerie.

_ Perfect. _

Kar placed the papers back in the suitcase, closed it, then exited back out the window. He climbed back down to the ground and to the ledge, climbing on the side once again. This time he crawled until the wall was replaced by the boardwalk where the ships were anchored. He crawled along the underside of the wooden walkways, staying silent, as there were guards above to discourage stowaways. He read the names of each of the ships as he passed until he found the SS Slayer. It was a fairly large ship with mean looking guns and cannons along the sides.

_ A fitting name. _

He let go of the boardwalk and swam over to the vessel before climbing up the side and arriving on deck. He looked around, and it didn’t seem like anybody was there. He saw a metal hatch that looked like it led further inside, so he opened it and jumped in.

Once again, the place seemed abandoned, which suited him just fine. He wandered through the halls, looking for a suitable place to hide. He eventually found an entrance to the ventilation system on the ceiling. He opened the grate, thankful they were hinged, and went to crawl inside. It was a very tight fit, and he wouldn’t be able to turn around, but that wouldn’t be an issue as long as he could find another exit. Using his feet to close the grate, he called his infiltration a success, and promptly went to sleep.


	9. Hunter Hunted

Kar was jolted awake by shouting above the deck. He had snuck aboard the ship without anybody discovering him. The only times he would leave were when he was hungry, and it would only be in the dead of night to minimize the risks of his discovery. The ship had only been attacked once on the way there, but it sounded like they handled it pretty well. But as he listened, he realized they were shouting out of fear or anything like that, they were shouting that they were about to dock.

Any sleepiness Kar felt instantly vanished upon hearing those words. They had finally arrived. Since most of the cargo was stored in a different section of the ship, he silently slunk out of the vent and made his way to a window, confident he wouldn’t be spotted. Looking outside, he saw open water in front and to the left of him, but a port and town to the right. Looking down, he saw there was no boardwalk on this side of the ship, and thus he’d have to swim.

Opening the window carefully, he peeked his head out and got a better look at the port. There were far too many dock workers for him to swim right up to it without being spotted. He could easily outrun them using his agility and teleportation, but then everyone would know he was on the island, and he would be hunted.

Looking further along the shoreline, he saw that, not too far from the port, the town ended and the jungle began. He decided he would wait until nightfall to make the swim to the thick sea of green, and in the meantime he would explore the ship, since the crew would all be in the town doing whatever.

He backed away from the window, closing it, and walked down the hall to the far end. He had barely been able to explore the ship while it was sailing, he only knew where the storage room was. He searched multiple rooms, most being bedrooms with multiple bunks attached to the walls, along with small chests containing sentimental items, but nothing worth taking.

He continued down the hall and rounded a corner, where he saw a heavy duty door with a wheel and no window. He approached and saw “Captain’s Quarters” printed above the wheel. He attempted to turn it, but before he could open it all the way, he heard rapid footsteps coming down the stairs, accompanied by yelling. Thinking fast, Kar teleported to the wall opposite the stairwell and crawled into the nearest vent. This time he had his head facing out so he could see, and he quickly shut the grate he had opened.

Right as he fully hid himself, a large group of what looked like armed militia consisting entirely of Faunus stormed into the lower deck. They seemed to be searching for something. After what looked like seven or so men ran in, a final, much larger, boar Faunus strode down the stairs, barking orders at his men. They were all wearing attire and were using equipment that told of an under-funded police force. The main man looked to be a Huntsman, a massive warhammer propped on his shoulder.

“Search every nook and every cranny! We already know the beast can hide in vents, so check those as well!”

They were looking for him? But how did they know he was here? He was especially careful not to be seen by anyone, and even if someone did see him, he doubted they would’ve waited this long before hunting him down. But before he could muse further, one of the men saw him in the vent and yanked it open, shouting for his comrades. Kar teleported to the closest window, all semblance of stealth being tossed out that same window.

“There you are, you filthy beast.” The leader of the group said, stepping forward ahead of his subordinates. Kar quickly analyzed the group. There were only seven of them, eight including the leader. They were all wielding melee weapons ranging from spears to axes to swords,and were wearing light armor.

“I have no reason to fight any of you. Simply let me leave, and nobody has to perish.” He said, his raspy voice echoing through the steel room. The leader simply laughed.

“I don’t think so. The Vale Council has quite the bounty on you and your big friend, so I’m not gonna pass up this opportunity.” His men cheered in agreement.

“Greed, one of the most dangerous qualities about humans.” Kar flexed his claws, his expressionless face unreadable. “And one you are clearly ruled by.”

In a flash he teleported onto the ceiling above the large man, slashing downwards before he could react. His claws passed through the man’s Aura like it was nothing, digging into his skull and brain, silencing any further boasting. He dropped down, following the man’s corpse and tackled another mercenary to the opposite wall, slamming his head against it and crushing it with a wet  _ crunch _ . The other mercs snapped out of their stupor and charged. Kar dropped the bleeding corpse and looked behind him. There were six mercs left.

The closest brute swung his battleax in a powerful downward strike. However, it was slow, and Kar easily dashed to the side, the ax embedding itself in the floor. He severed the man’s arms, taking a page out of the Slayer’s book, then decapitated him, kicking his body into the group of enemies. A quicker enemy armed with twin daggers caught him off guard and slashed his arm, though it barely went deep enough for him to feel. He stabbed him in the gut and tossed him aside, his rapidly dying body flying through the window and into the water with a splash.

With only four remaining, they were becoming more reluctant to fight, but Kar wasn’t. In their moment of indecisiveness, he teleported behind the one in the back of the group, taking his head off with a swift strike. The final three realized they couldn’t beat him, at least not on their own, and wisely dropped their weapons and made a mad dash for the stairwell. But they had sealed their fates the moment they decided to attack him, and he wouldn’t let his prey escape. He teleported to the door, slammed it shut, and sliced the wheel off, effectively trapping everyone inside.

“None of you are leaving!” He snarled before lunging at the closest Faunus and tackling him to the floor. He then quickly gutted him, leaving him to bleed out on the floor in pain. He looked back up and saw the last two were gone, having fled to hide.

Kar chuckled. “Finally, a proper hunt.” He said, wiping the blood on his claws off onto the dying man’s shirt.

**Meanwhile**

This wasn’t supposed to happen! They were only supposed to track the monster down, kill it, and turn its head in for the bounty. Nobody said its claws could cut through Aura like wet tissue! Ohm, Rex didn’t stand a damned chance. Then the way it tore through the others, he knew he had to get away.

Minith had ran as soon as it had tackled Mason to the floor, alongside the new guy, who’s name he couldn’t even remember. He was currently hiding in a room that looked to be a storage room for the crew’s supplies. It was filled with various shelves and crates, and he was hiding behind one such crate. As he tried to calm himself down, his quivering wolf tail wrapped around himself, he tried to think of a way to escape. The stairs weren’t an option anymore, as that thing had sealed it shut. The only options were to either wait for someone to notice he and his squad were missing, or to climb through a window and attempt to climb up to the deck.

He couldn’t swim, as he’d never cared to learn how. He cursed himself for not going to the swimming lessons his mom had arranged for him. He went to the only window in the room and tried to open it, but found it was rusted shut through neglect.

“Dammit, fuck fuck fuck, why can’t you fuckers take care of your ship?!” He whisper yelled to himself, starting to panic again. He stopped as he was abruptly interrupted by the sound of a blood curdling scream from the room just across the hall. It seemed the other guy had been caught, so now it was just Minith, and this fucking  _ demon _ .

He quickly dove inside an open crate as the door to the room opened. He clamped his hands over his mouth, trying desperately to stay silent. In the near complete silence, he heard the sound of claws scraping along the ground, followed by quiet growling.

“I know you are in here.” A series of guttural clicks met his ears. “I can smell the sweat on your brow, taste the tears in your eyes, and feel the fear in your heart.” He could tell the monster was slowly circling the room, and was making its way over to the crate he was hiding in. “Your comrades are dead, their bloody carcasses decorating the halls of this vessel. Only you remain.” The footsteps stopped just in front of the box. “And your blood will be sweet.”

The lid of the box was torn open, and Minith was dragged out by his leg. He kicked and screamed, begging to be spared, but the monster severed the hand he was using the hold onto the box. He screamed in pain, clutching the ragged stump that had once been his right hand. The demon then picked him up by his tail before severing that as well, causing his screams to intensify. He picked him up one final time, this time by the throat, and looked him in the eye, glowing orange meeting soft green.

“Please-” He choked out before the demon drove its clawed hand into his chest, and tore out his heart before dropping him. The last thing Minith saw as his world went black was Kar, the Demonic Hunter, consuming his heart in front of him, and his last thoughts were spent damning the sailor who had told them of the sighting.

**With Kar**

He relished the taste of the warm, fresh heart. He hadn’t been able to go on a proper hunt since he had been ambushed by Hunstmen in the Emerald Forest. He looked back down at the fresh corpse of the young man. He got an idea. He cut the man open, soaking his claws in as much blood and viscera as possible. Then he painted the Slayer’s mark on the wall above him, along with the word “ **SINNER** ” beneath. If the demon slaying badass wasn’t going to be here, then his mark might as well be used for something. And it’s not like people don’t already know by now that he’s here.

He exited the room and went about doing the same thing to every other kill in his temporary hunting grounds. After he was finished, he went to the window that had been shattered by the dagger-wielder’s corpse and jumped out as well, diving into the water with a quiet splash.

As he swam for shore, he remained underwater, only poking his above whenever he needed to take a breath. He reached the treeline before long and, confident he hadn’t been spotted, emerged onto the beach and crawled up a tree, using that high point to begin jumping from tree to tree. He would find a good place to call his home-away-from-home, preferably a cave of some sort, before planning out a way to get his claws on a vessel large enough for Molag Bal to fit. But for now, he ran through the trees, snacking on the occasional squirrel.

What a way to welcome him to Menagerie.


End file.
